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April 30, 2013

Each day this week we'll count down the top five games of this past season for the Johnstown Tomahawks. The list is only what we believe the best five games were, so if you have a different opinion, we'd love to hear about it. Comment below or you can leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter page.

#4

When:

November 30th 2012

Where:

Town Toyota Center

Match-up/Score:

Wenatchee 3 Johnstown 4 F/OT

We selected this game as number four for a few reasons. It was the first time the Tomahawks traveled to the west coast. The Tomahawks' were in the middle of one of their best streaks of the season. Lastly because it showed that the Tomahawks could match up against anyone in the league. Wenatchee was a well rounded team, from the net out. The game was a battle but Johnstown found a way to get two points.

1st Period:

Only 2:05 into the first period, Andrew McDonald was able to beat Wilds' goaltender, Nichols, to give the Tomahawks a 1-0 lead. The assists came from Connor Wright and Zach Wallace.

Wenatchee would tie the game at one, Jacob Barber assisted by Brian Williams and Chris Kerr, at 11:51.

The period would end with the score 1-1.

2nd Period:

Early in the second period, Wenatchee would take the lead, when Jacob Barber beat Chris Truehl. The assists went to Chris Kerr (his second of the night) and David Mead. Time of the goal was 1:59.

The Tomahawks would bare down and score the next two. Andrew McDonald scored his second of the game, shorthanded, with the assist going to Cody Gylling at 11:12. Moments later, team captain, Mitch Kontny would give the team the go-a-head goal, assisted by Jeff Bergh at 13:37.

April 29, 2013

Each day this week we'll count down the top five games of this past season for the Johnstown Tomahawks. The list is only what we believe the best five games were, so if you have a different opinion, we'd love to hear about it. Comment below or you can leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter page.

#5

When:

September 13th 2012

Where:

Day 2 of the NAHL Showcase

Match-up/Score:

Kenai River 5 vs Johnstown 6 F/SO

The reason we selected this game is because this was the first win in franchise history, and it was won in a shootout.

Coming into the game the Tomahawks had a record of 0-2-1.

In net for the Tomahawks that night was Matthew McLaughlin. It would be the only game he'd play in for Johnstown, and he only lasted net for 30:55 minutes.

Both teams scored two in the first, two in the second, and one in the third, to force the overtime period, and ultimately the shootout.

1st Period:

Johnstown got on the board first as, Evan Hesse scored with the assist going to Jeff Bergh. 0:52

Kenia River would then score the next back-to-back goals, to give them a 2-1 lead, all still under ten minutes into the game.

April 26, 2013

When fans show up to a game in any sport, they don't really think about what it takes for the visiting team to get there. In the NHL, teams hop on a plane (sometimes even a train in the Northeast) and in a few hours they're at the next city waiting to play their next game.

Junior hockey is much different. Every time the team takes to the road it's by bus, unless of course they have to go to the other coast. It's not just a one time trip to a city and that's it. During the season you're bound to repeat that trip many times a year. For the Tomahawks, being the furthest team east, that means long days on the road.

In this post we'll take a look at a rough estimate on how many miles the Tomahawks' traveled this year.

Johnstown:

The miles we post are taken from Bing.com and the directions are from the War Memorial Arena to the other team's arena. Sure the hotel might be further away, or they might not take that exact course, but, really? Let's not get that picky.

First, here's just the flat out miles to each arena from Johnstown's barn.

NAHL Showcase Blaine, Minnesota- 939 (13:49)

Jamestown- 150 (3:19)

Port Huron- 409 (6:17)

Flint- 402 (6:08)

Kalamazoo- 434 (6:34)

Soo- 676 (10:02)

Janesville- 629 (9:28)

Springfield- 648 (9:37)

Fresno- 929 (14:49) from Weatchee

Wenatchee- 2432 (n/a took plane)

Remember those drive times are probably longer than that because it's all on bus, and we're not adding time for all those fun blizzards you'll run into from time to time.

Now let's take a look at the schedule and see how many times the Tomahawks played these teams on the road.

Blaine, Minnesota- 1 (yes they played four games here but only had to get there once)

Jamestown- 4 (2 series)

Port Huron- 4 (2 series)

Flint- 4 (1 stand alone game, day after playing at Soo, three back to back games, same weekend)

Kalamazoo- 4 (2 series)

Soo- 4 (2 series)

Janesville- 1 series

Springfield- 1 Series

Fresno- 1 Series (came directly from Wenatchee)

Wenatchee- 1 Series

Okay, feel like I'm teaching class right now. So let's find out how many miles to each city now. Remember because they played back to back games they only had to travel to the hosting city once and back once for each trip.

Blaine, Minnesota- 1878

Jamestown- 600

Port Huron- 1636

Flint- 1088

Kalamazoo- 1736

Soo- 2420

Janesville- 1258

Springfield- 1296

Wenatchee- 2432

Fresno- 2609

Total miles traveled this season= 16,953

In a perfect world, Johnstown would love to just play Jamestown on the road every game, since that's the shortest travel by miles and time, but Jamestown might not be back in the league next season due to off ice problems.

Kalamazoo won't be back next season which means the team will be able to save some traveling there, but that also means, four more road games somewhere else, which will add further travel.

I'd just like to point out that these miles don't include the 818 playoff miles to Port Huron, and that even though they had to travel that much this season, the team still had a better road record then a home record, 14-10-6.

April 23, 2013

When I first started this blog I did it for a few reasons. The most obvious to most people was that I love hockey and I love my hometown team. I was a long time fan of the Johnstown Chiefs and when they left town it was a huge loss, not just for myself but for the city.

The Wheeling Nailers came to town the next two season to play ten games per season but it just wasn't the same as it was. Then rumors began in hockey circles and in the city about possibly getting a new team for the city to call their own. The Cambria County War Memorial Authority met with league heads, from junior hockey to the pro level, trying to see what would be the right fit for Johnstown.

One of the leaders was the FHL. It's pro hockey, which Johnstown knows, but is ranked as single A (ECHL was AA) and the league, only coming into it's second year, was small and in very small markets. If hockey was to come back to Johnstown, I personally hoped it wouldn't be the FHL. Luckily it wasn't.

Then there was talk about going the junior hockey route. Being a fan of hockey and following many leagues closely, I knew that ranked junior hockey was a good brand of hockey, but knew that the people of Johnstown would probably be against it because "it's high school hockey". That's something I heard all of the time, but the people who said that had no clue what they were talking about, because junior hockey and high school hockey have nothing in common other than the players are roughly the same age and the game is hockey.

It was getting towards spring time, 2012, when the hockey world became a buzz about a possible team relocating to Johnstown Pa. That team was the Alaska Avalanche of the NAHL. The team didn't have the crowd support it needed and the traveling was taking it's toll.

That's when it was announced. Everyone reported about it, from ESPN, to Fox News, to Channel Four news in Pittsburgh. Hockey was coming back to Johnstown. The team seemed to have strong ownership, and the front office included many former Johnstown Chiefs' players. It was exciting, people were talking about Johnstown, and Johnstown hockey, but I made sure not to get too excited.

April 20, 2013

In case you don't follow Rick Boyd on facebook, or if you haven't read the local paper today, the Boyd family is going to be on the game show Family Feud.

Via the Tribune Democrat:

The Boyd family team includes Tammy, a science teacher; husband Rick, general manager of the Johnstown Tomahawks hockey team and project manager; daughter Tiffany, a business analyst; daughter Calsie, a college student and athlete; and Tammy’s father, Frank Kocsis, a retiree.

April 19, 2013

The 2013 North Division winner, and the team that will participate in the 2013 Robertson Cup Tournament will either be the Soo Eagles or the Jamestown Ironmen.

So how did they get there? Both teams had byes in the first round, so it made things a little bit easier.

Soo was able to sweep the Port Huron Fighting Falcons. As a Tomahawks' fan, when you heard the news you thought to yourself "Why couldn't we have won. I'm sure we would have done better than Port Huron." You can have that debate all day if you want, but it doesn't matter.

In the best-of-five series, the Soo Eagles swept Port Huron, three games to none.

A blind man could tell you that Soo's magical number for that series was four, as they scored four goals a game, and held Port Huron to a total of four goals, in three games.

Attendance:

Game 1: @Soo- 864
Game 2: @Soo-916
Game 3: @Port Huron- 499

Ouch.

Notes:

Soo spread the wealth when it came to scoring, as 15 of the 21 players that played at least one game in the series had at least one point.

Soo's goalie, Tyler Marble, picked up where he left off in the regular season, playing in all three games and getting all three wins. .He also has a playoff save percentage of, .959.

Michael Lant leads Soo in +/- with a +6 in the playoffs so far.

Soo's leading goal scorer is Kyle Loridon. In three games he has three points, one goal and two assists. Loridon played in 48 games this season with Soo, scoring a total of 12 points. This is why you've got to love the game of hockey, you never know what player is going to lead the team in the playoffs.

Jamestown following Soo's lead, and not wanting to be outdone, swept their series vs the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings. The K-Wings were on their NAHL farewell tour, but it didn't last as long as they'd hope. After beating Springfield, in a one sided best-of-three contest, they found themselves on the wrong end vs Jamestown.

Jamestown's arena holds 1,500 (i think) so they had a pretty good first two games in attendance. Jamestown is a little bigger than Johnstown and you'd think in the years to come they should be able to fill that arena most nights, hopefully they can.

As for Kalamazoo, if you didn't understand why the team was folding at the end of the season, you now see exactly why with that horrible attendance number. The city does have an ECHL team, the Kalamazoo K-Wings, so I'm sure the city's not too upset they're losing the NAHL team.

Notes:

There's a few Kalamazoo players I wouldn't mind having on the Tomahawks' next season.

Ross Pavek didn't play in this series for the Ironmen due to his fight that happened against Johnstown in the last game of the season. Pavek was Jamestown's 6th leading goal scoring during the season. You'd think Jamestown only gets better when he gets back into the line up.

Nicholas Sierra leads the Ironmen so far in the playoffs with five points in three games (one goal, four assists).

Tough guy Tyler Minx is tied for the team lead in +/- with a +5 rating.

Soo vs Jamestown:

So far this playoff season (in the north division) there have been no upsets. Soo, seed number 1, Jamestown, seed number 2, will battle to head to Frisco, TX to have a chance to win the Robertson Cup Championship.

If I had to pick a winner, I'd have to say Soo Eagles win the series in four games. Soo is a very good team, but they've also got one of the best goalies in the league, and I think that's going to put them over the edge.

P.S.

Out in the west, Fresno and Wenatchee are going to play in a final game five. Fresno only made the playoffs because their division had just four teams. If Fresno wins...just wow.

April 17, 2013

Johnstown was third in their division this season in goals scored (179) but throughout the season had trouble getting timely goals, and relied heavily on their top line to get most of the scoring done. So early on, even before the season ended, Rick Boyd began to tender players who have been able to put up good numbers in other leagues. The latest player Boyd is hopping that can come into Johnstown this upcoming season and bring his success from the Empire Jr. Hockey League, is Logan Coomes.

Johnstown Tomahawks' assistant coach, Mike Letizia, had this to say about Coomes, via the team's official press release:

“Through our scouting efforts, we learned about Coomes and invited him to skate with the Tomahawks in Johnstown,” said Tomahawks Assistant Coach Mike Letizia. “We were thoroughly impressed with his skills and feel he will be a strong asset for our team.”

Coomes, via team's press release:

“I enjoyed the opportunity to skate with the Tomahawks previously, which made it even more exciting when they asked me to commit to them for next season,” said Coomes. “I love playing hockey, and I'm most comfortable being on the ice; It's like my second home. I think that playing with the Tomahawks will challenge me to be a better hockey player. And I hope that I can add something to the team. "

So how good is Coomes? He did so good last season that he verbally committed to the NCAA Division I Quinnipiac University to play in the 2016 season. That's the same Quinnipiac that were runners up (losing to Yale) in this year's frozen four final. He can't sign a letter of intent until he turns eighteen years old.

Coomes spent this past season playing for the Frederick Freeze, where he led his team in scoring and was third in the league in total points.

GP

G

A

PTS

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

39

24

40

64

64

6

15

0

1

5

In the 2011/2012 season he played for the Indiana Jr Ice 16U of the NAPHL. His stats are below:

GP

G

A

PTS

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

18

1

5

6

8

0

1

0

1

0

Coomes becomes the eighth player to be tender for the Tomahawks 2013-2014. Tender's so far:

With the players already tendered by the team, the NAHL draft coming up in June, the players that should be back from last years team, and a few BIG signings Boyd has planned, next year's team is shaping up to be a fun one to watch.

April 16, 2013

TheTomablog is going to have yet another site that we'll post original content on. This is our idea or how it'll work, and at some point we'll probably change it around until we feel it works on every level.

This site that you're on now will remain the same, and we'll bring you new Tomahawks' related posts every day or every other day like we already do.

When we post something to the new site we'll still let you know about it on facebook and twitter, and we'll have some sort of clickable ad on the left side of this page.

We're die hard fans here at the TheTomablog and to truely be a die hard fan you've got to know everything about your hometown team and your homtown team's enemies, and that's what we're going to try to do here.

Will it work? Maybe, or maybe we'll get bored with it and stop after a few weeks, but it doesn't hurt to try. So if you can't get enough of the NAHL and Tomahawks hockey we hope this will be something all of our reader will enjoy.

Join our Team:

If you'd like to write something for TheTomablog or TheTomablogNorth, send us a message. We'd love to build our team here. You can be a fan of the Soo Eagles, Port Huron Fighting Falcons, Michigan Warriors, Janesville Jets, Springfield Jr. Blues, Jamestown Ironmen, or of course the Johnstown Tomahawks to write for us.

We can't pay, but if you love your team, why not help us write about them. (We do though, have the final say in the content that you wish to be posted).

April 15, 2013

When the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL played in Johnstown the team found it hard to get the best players to come to Johnstown, which kept the Chiefs from ever winning a championship in the city. Many times the Chiefs had players that didn't report to their club when being sent down. One of those players is current NHLer David Desharnais. At the time, Desharnais was in the Tampa Bay organization and had the choice to come to Johnstown to begin his pro career or go back to juniors. He decided to go back to juniors. The next season, after becoming of age, went to the Cincinnati Cyclones where in 68 games he scored 106 points , leading the team to a Kelly Cup Championship.One of the reasons Johnstown wasn't a place that players wanted to come to was the weather. With teams located in California and Florida, who wouldn't want to play in a warm weather city. Another reason was because of the night life. Johnstown is a small town and of course lacks a lot of the big or bigger city elements. Also, players love to play in front of big crowds, and in the last few years in Johnstown, crowds were getting smaller and smaller.Then Bouchard and company rolled into town and made Johnstown the place to play. Night life? When you're team is made up of 16-21 year olds, most can't legally have a night life, plus with team rules, there's a curfew. Location? Junior hockey is all about the love of the game and doing everything you can to get to the next level. If you there's a spot open at the North Pole, you better believe that players will try to make that team, to help push them towards their dreams in hockey.The players this season would come to Johnstown, but there's a difference between just having a team of players and having a team of players that want to play here. The team during it's first season was able to build a rock hard foundation on and off the ice. Hiring Jason Spence as the team's first head coach. He was a fan favorite in Johnstown when he played for the Chiefs because of his hard noised, hard working approach, and that's the type of team he built.The front office, led by Rick Boyd and Jean Desrochers, both former players in Johnstown as well, new all they had to do is get people in the building to see one game and they'd be hooked. Also, they knew exactly what worked in Johnstown and what didn't.From the first game of the season the fans of Johnstown took to the team, it's players, coaches, the staff and ownership. Players walked around the city, and people knew who they were. For a young kid, it's a great experience, to feel what it's like, or could be like, as a pro. On the ice, the team was tough and hard to play against.
"I knew the fans were awesome out here and it's my style of hockey. Hard nose
grinding, making other teams scared to play us” said Tomahawks' first year defenseman Dakota Menslage, about why he signed a tender with the Tomahawks. Johnstown was fifth in the league this season in attendance and had the best attendance in the North Division. Johnstown averaged 2,527 fans per game this season.In comparison, Michigan averaged 1,014, Springfield 927, Janesville 798, Soo 671, Jamestown 667, Port Huron 619, and Kalamazoo 327. Lower leagues are smaller than that. So this is the first time for many players to experience playing in front of big crowds, with great atmospheres and when talking to a few players that's their favorite memory of playing in Johnstown this season. “Well the fans of Johnstown are amazing, they show so much
support which helps a lot and means a lot. I'd saying running out on the ice
seeing all the fans was the best part” said Menslege.His teammate Mitch Hall who started the season in Jamestown had the same thoughts, “ (My) most memorable moment was probably (my) first home game. Skating
out In front of the best fans junior hockey has to offer is something I'll never
forget.” Having great fans isn't the only thing that will separate Johnstown from the rest of the pack, also it's talent on the ice. In his first 22 games of the season with Jamestown, Hall, scored three points, but upon arriving in Johnstown for the second half of the season, saw his numbers climb to thirteen points in 24 games. "I have to give the credit to my team mates. The amount of
skill our forwards have make it easy. As defenseman we just have to get them
the puck and they do the rest of the work.”This was talent Johnstown had before the league understood just what kind of hockey was going on in Johnstown. Many players from different teams within the league and many more around junior hockey have expressed that they'd love a chance to play in Johnstown next season. One of the players hoping to return next season is Hall. "I haven't put that much thought into my plans. But once I
get home I will be starting my summer training and coming back to Johnstown
next season, hopefully to win the Robertson cup!”Another player that's looking to come back next season and be the go to guy in net for Johnstown is Colin Brennan. "My plans for next season consists of coming back to Johnstown. I love being a Tomahawk and playing for the people of Johnstown. We have great fans and they deserve the best out of us. We have a lot of talent coming back and in next season, and I look forward to being a key contributed and leader next season."The tide is or already has turned in Johnstown. The days of only being able to get some of the talent might be a thing of the past, because Johnstown seems to becoming the premier place to play, and as a fan that's something to be extremely excited about.

April 13, 2013

Today is our last day for our "Year in Review". Today we look at all the forwards that were traded or released from the Tomahawks this season. This review won't be as long as the others, since some of the players didn't last long in Johnstown.

# 21 Joe Bender

Bender only played six games this season with the Tomahawks. He would have probably played the whole season but got injured (concussion I believe) and then just couldn't get back into the line up. Bender was released by the team on 1/15/2013.

I remember seeing him on the ice and that he was a player like Mike Sandor, but other than that I can't tell you another more.

Off the ice, Bender, was another Johnstown Tomahawks' 2012 NAHL draft pick. He was selected in 7th in the 6th round of the draft.

Season Stats:

GP

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

SHOTS

S%

6

0

1

1

-2

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Bender's only point came against Springfield on 11/03/2012 in a 4-3 OTL.

Game by Game Stats:

DATE

GAME

RESULT

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

S

10/19/2012

vsSoo

3-2 W

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10/20/2012

vsSoo

0-4 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10/27/2012

@Kalamazoo

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

10/28/2012

@Kalamazoo

6-2 W

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

11/3/2012

vsSpringfield

3-4 OTL

0

1

1

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

11/4/2012

vsSpringfield

4-6 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

As Bender was rehabbing (at least that's our guess) he played 18 games in the PHL with the Pittsburgh Viper Stars 18U. In eighteen games he scored ten points. On the Viper Stars' team with Bender this season, was Trevor Recktenwald, who is a Johnstown Tomahawks' 2013-2014 tender.

# 26 Brandon Brossoit

Brossoit was one of Johnstown's leading scorers until he was traded to the Fresno Monsters on 10/26/2012 for Andrew McDonald. Since that trade, Brossoit was traded again, currently now playing for Topeka.

April 12, 2013

Today we will look at the last four players on the 2012-2013 Johnstown Tomahawks' roster. Tomorrow we'll end on part 4, which will highlight all the forwards that were traded, or released from the Tomahawks during the season.

# 22 Corey Schafer

Schafer is the second Johnstown, Pa native on the team. Schafer was acquired in a trade with Wichita Falls on 1/10/2013 in exchange for Tomahawks' defenseman Kristaps Bazevics. Looking back at this deal, it was a fair trade for both clubs.

Schafer didn't play a lot this season for the Tomahawks due to injury. In total, Schafer, only saw the ice in seven games.

Season Stats: (Johnstown Only)

GP

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

SHOTS

S%

7

0

1

1

-2

4

0

0

0

0

0

5

0

His only point with Johnstown this season came against Soo on 1/13/2013. It was only his second game with the team.

Game by Game Stats: (Johnstown Only)

DATE

GAME

RESULT

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

S

1/12/2013

vsPort Huron

2-4 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1/13/2013

vsSoo

6-2 W

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1/18/2013

vsMichigan

1-3 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

3

1/19/2013

vsMichigan

3-2 W

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

1/25/2013

@Soo

2-5 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

2/1/2013

vsPort Huron

4-5 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2/2/2013

vsSoo

4-5 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Final Thoughts on Schafer

Since Schafer didn't play a lot this season I can't give a full review on how he did. In high school he was a leading goal scorer but at this level he looks like he'll be more of a grinder type of player. He's a pretty quick skater, and can throw some pretty big hits.

It also looked like he was trying to play a role of a pest as well. One thing about this Tomahawks team, this year, was that we had too many of the same kind of players. Too many grinders and not enough goal scorers. Our pest is JB Baker, he's one of the best in the league in that role. If Schafer is back next season, he needs to find his scoring touch. Could he be a more physical Andrew McDonald type of player? Maybe.

# 26 Brandon Reinholz

Reinholz was fourth on the team in points and third on the team in penalty minutes. He's been a teammate with Hall most of his life, and he wears his heart on his sleeve.

In his first home game of the season, he showed just what type of player he was to the hometown crowd.

April 11, 2013

Yesterday, we looked back at the first five Tomahawks' forwards, going by jersey number, and today we're back to look at the next five.

So let's jump right into it.

# 16 Connor Wright

Wright's hometown is Anchorage, AK and he played for the Avalanche last season before coming to Johnstown. Along side, Zach Wallace, the two became Johnstown's, forward, shut down line. Wright finished second on the team in +/- rating, with a +9. With Andrew McDonald on the line with them, they were also an offensive threat.

Not only was Wright great in his own zone, he contributed on the offensive side of things, and was willing to drop the gloves. During the season, Wright, had three fights.

Brendan Vetter- Kalamazoo Jr. K Wings- 11/10/2012

Luc Gerdes- Jamestown Ironmen- 12/14/2012

Nathan Flynn- Wenatchee Wild- 2/16/2013

Season Stats:

GP

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

SHOTS

S%

56

9

12

21

9

81

2

2

0

0

1

116

0.078

Wright's best game of the season was on 3/29/2013 vs the Jamestown Ironmen. That night he scored one goal, had two assists, and was a +4. In total Wright had five multi-point games.

Game by Game Stats:

DATE

GAME

RESULT

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

S

9/8/2012

@Port Huron

3-4 OTL

0

0

0

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/9/2012

@Port Huron

2-4 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/12/2012

vsBrookings

2-4 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

4

9/13/2012

vsKenai River

6-5 W

0

1

1

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

9/14/2012

@Austin

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

9/15/2012

@Corpus Christi

3-5 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/29/2012

vsMichigan

2-3 OTL

0

0

0

-2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/30/2012

vsMichigan

4-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

10/6/2012

vsJanesville

5-3 W

0

0

0

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

1

10/7/2012

vsJanesville

4-1 W

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

10/12/2012

@Soo

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

-1

12

0

0

0

0

0

0

10/13/2012

@Soo

1-4 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10/14/2012

@Michigan

4-2 W

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

10/27/2012

@Kalamazoo

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

10/28/2012

@Kalamazoo

6-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

11/3/2012

vsSpringfield

3-4 OTL

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

11/4/2012

vsSpringfield

4-6 L

2

1

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

11/9/2012

vsKalamazoo

4-3 W

1

0

1

-1

0

1

0

0

0

0

4

11/10/2012

vsKalamazoo

4-1 W

0

0

0

1

5

0

0

0

0

0

2

11/23/2012

@Jamestown

5-3 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

11/24/2012

@Jamestown

3-2 W

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

11/30/2012

@Wenatchee

4-3 W

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

12/1/2012

@Wenatchee

0-1 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

12/7/2012

@Fresno

6-1 W

0

2

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

12/8/2012

@Fresno

4-3 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

12/14/2012

vsJamestown

5-0 W

1

0

1

3

7

0

0

0

0

1

2

12/15/2012

vsJamestown

0-1 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

12/21/2012

@Port Huron

3-2 W

1

1

2

0

2

1

1

0

0

0

2

12/22/2012

@Port Huron

3-4 L

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

12/30/2012

vsKalamazoo

2-1 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

12/31/2012

vsKalamazoo

2-3 OTL

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

3

1/4/2013

@Michigan

2-4 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1/5/2013

@Michigan

1-2 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1/6/2013

@Michigan

1-8 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

1/11/2013

vsPort Huron

2-3 OTL

0

1

1

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

5

1/12/2013

vsPort Huron

2-4 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1/13/2013

vsSoo

6-2 W

1

1

2

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

5

1/18/2013

vsMichigan

1-3 L

0

0

0

-2

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1/19/2013

vsMichigan

3-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1/25/2013

@Soo

2-5 L

0

0

0

-2

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

1/26/2013

@Soo

5-4 W

1

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

1/31/2013

vsPort Huron

3-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

2/1/2013

vsPort Huron

4-5 L

1

0

1

1

14

0

0

0

0

0

5

2/2/2013

vsSoo

4-5 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

2/8/2013

@Janesville

3-4 OTL

0

0

0

-1

2

0

0

0

0

0

5

2/9/2013

@Janesville

3-1 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

2/15/2013

vsWenatchee

1-3 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2/16/2013

vsWenatchee

2-3 L

0

0

0

0

5

0

0

0

0

0

2

2/22/2013

vsFresno

2-3 OTL

0

1

1

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

2/23/2013

vsFresno

1-2 OTL

0

0

0

-1

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

3/1/2013

@Springfield

4-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3/2/2013

@Springfield

2-3 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3/23/2013

@Kalamazoo

3-2 W

0

1

1

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

3

3/24/2013

@Kalamazoo

2-1 W

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

4

3/29/2013

@Jamestown

5-0 W

1

2

3

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

3/30/2013

@Jamestown

1-2 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

4

Final Thoughts on Wright

Conor Wright seemed to always made the right play every time. He is a '92 so this was his last year in the NAHL. In his three years playing in the NAHL he was a +17.

# 17 Zach Wallace

Wallace lead the team this season in +/-, with a healthy +11. Wallace was traded to Johnstown back at the beginning of the season, 9/13/2012, and what a good trade it was. Though his point production was down a bit, his defensive game was at an all time high.

Just like all of his teammates, he didn't mind dropping the gloves when he had to.

April 10, 2013

Year in Review: The Goalies, here
Year in Review: The Defesnemen, here

Today we are going to take a look at some of the forwards that played in a Tomahawks jersey this year. We'll do about five forwards a day, making this review four parts. This of course is part one.

Enjoy, and feel free to share your comments down below. Note: We might change the comment options to make you sign in to facebook or twitter to comment, so it's easier for us to comment back to you.

# 7 Cody Boyd

﻿

One of two Johnstown natives on the Tomahawks. Of course we all know his father, Rick Boyd, who's also the Johnstown Tomahawks' GM. Cody, isn't going to score 20 goals a season, and he's not going to be a flashy player, and he knows that, and doesn't try to be a player he's not. He's a solid, hard checking forward that can contribute offensively every now and again.

This season Boyd was second on the team in penalty minutes with 143. He of course was behind, Jake Fairchild, who had 210 penalty minutes this season.

Boyd, like his father, isn't afraid to drop the gloves to defend his teammates. In total this season Boyd had eight fights:

Robbie Payne- Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings- 11/10/2012

Max McHugh- Wenatchee Wild- 12/01/2012

Zach Badalamenti- Port Huron Fighting Falcons- 12/22/2012

TJ Stuntz- Michigan Warriors- 1/06/2013

Conor Lemirande- Jansville Jets- 2/08/2013

Joe Sullivan- Weatchee Wild- 2/16/2013

Ryan Urso- Jamestown Ironmen- 3/09/2013

Ross Pavek- Jamestown Ironmen- 3-30-2013

Season Stats:

GP

G

A

PTS

+/-

PIM

PP

PPA

SH

SHA

GWG

SHOTS

S%

55

4

5

9

-5

143

0

0

0

0

0

58

0.069

During the season, Boyd was either an even or a plus player 42 games out of the 55 games he played. He didn't record any multi-point games during the season.He did improve offensively from last season, gaining six more points and improved his plus minus by one point.

April 9, 2013

Yesterday we took a look at all the goalies that suited up for the Johnstown Tomahawks this season. (You can read that blog post here.) Today we move onto the defensemen. We'll cover all players that played at least one game with the Tomahawks this season, and go in order of player jersey number.

Let's begin.

# 2 Cody Bentzel

Bentzel is the type of defenseman you don't always notice on the ice until he's not in the lineup, and then you relies just how valuable he really is. He's not a flashy D-man and he doesn't murder people with his hits, he just gets the job done.

In game two of the playoffs vs Port Huron, Bentzel hurt his shoulder, and missed game three. Would he have been the difference maker, getting the Tomahawks the win? He might not have, but it wouldn't have hurt to have him.

Bentzel's best game, point wise, came the first home game of the season, where he received two assists in the Johnstown win over Michigan, 4-2. Bentzel never had a game all season where he was more then a minus two on the ice, and in 32 of the 50 games he played, he was either an even or a plus player.

Bentzel had one fight this season, which was against Michigan's Shawn Badali.

Here's his season totals:

GP

G

A

P

Plus/Minus

PIM

PPG

PPA

SHG

SHA

GWG

Shots

Shot%

50

1

4

5

-8

54

0

0

0

0

0

47

0.021

Game by Game Stats:

Date

Vs

Result

G

A

P

Rating

PIM

Shots

9/12/2012

vsBrookings

2-4 L

0

0

0

1

2

0

9/13/2012

vsKenai River

6-5 W

0

1

1

-1

0

0

9/14/2012

@Austin

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

2

9/15/2012

@Corpus Christi

3-5 L

0

0

0

1

0

2

9/29/2012

vsMichigan

2-3 OTL

0

2

2

2

0

0

9/30/2012

vsMichigan

4-2 W

0

0

0

1

0

2

10/6/2012

vsJanesville

5-3 W

0

0

0

-2

0

1

10/7/2012

vsJanesville

4-1 W

0

1

1

1

0

1

10/12/2012

@Soo

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

-3

0

2

10/14/2012

@Michigan

4-2 W

0

0

0

0

4

2

10/19/2012

vsSoo

3-2 W

0

0

0

-1

2

0

10/20/2012

vsSoo

0-4 L

0

0

0

0

0

2

10/27/2012

@Kalamazoo

4-5 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

1

10/28/2012

@Kalamazoo

6-2 W

0

0

0

1

0

0

11/3/2012

vsSpringfield

3-4 OTL

0

0

0

-2

2

3

11/4/2012

vsSpringfield

4-6 L

0

0

0

0

0

1

11/10/2012

vsKalamazoo

4-1 W

0

0

0

2

0

0

11/23/2012

@Jamestown

5-3 W

0

0

0

-1

0

1

11/24/2012

@Jamestown

3-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

2

12/7/2012

@Fresno

6-1 W

1

0

1

1

0

1

12/8/2012

@Fresno

4-3 W

0

0

0

-1

0

2

12/14/2012

vsJamestown

5-0 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

12/15/2012

vsJamestown

0-1 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

12/21/2012

@Port Huron

3-2 W

0

0

0

0

2

2

12/22/2012

@Port Huron

3-4 L

0

0

0

0

7

0

12/30/2012

vsKalamazoo

2-1 W

0

0

0

-1

4

1

12/31/2012

vsKalamazoo

2-3 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

2

1/4/2013

@Michigan

2-4 L

0

0

0

0

2

0

1/5/2013

@Michigan

1-2 OTL

0

0

0

0

5

0

1/6/2013

@Michigan

1-8 L

0

0

0

-2

0

3

1/11/2013

vsPort Huron

2-3 OTL

0

0

0

0

0

0

1/12/2013

vsPort Huron

2-4 L

0

0

0

-1

0

1

1/13/2013

vsSoo

6-2 W

0

0

0

1

0

0

1/18/2013

vsMichigan

1-3 L

0

0

0

0

0

0

1/19/2013

vsMichigan

3-2 W

0

0

0

0

2

0

1/25/2013

@Soo

2-5 L

0

0

0

-1

0

2

1/26/2013

@Soo

5-4 W

0

0

0

-2

0

1

1/31/2013

vsPort Huron

3-2 W

0

0

0

1

0

0

2/1/2013

vsPort Huron

4-5 L

0

0

0

0

14

1

2/2/2013

vsSoo

4-5 L

0

0

0

-2

2

0

2/8/2013

@Janesville

3-4 OTL

0

0

0

-2

0

0

2/22/2013

vsFresno

2-3 OTL

0

0

0

1

0

1

3/1/2013

@Springfield

4-2 W

0

0

0

0

0

0

3/2/2013

@Springfield

2-3 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

3/8/2013

vsJamestown

3-1 W

0

0

0

0

2

2

3/9/2013

vsJamestown

2-3 L

0

0

0

1

0

4

3/23/2013

@Kalamazoo

3-2 W

0

0

0

1

4

0

3/24/2013

@Kalamazoo

2-1 W

0

0

0

0

0

2

3/29/2013

@Jamestown

5-0 W

0

0

0

1

0

0

3/30/2013

@Jamestown

1-2 L

0

0

0

-1

0

0

Final Thoughts on Bentzel:

He's a '93 player which mean he is able to play one more season in junior hockey, which I hope he spends that time back in Johnstown.

# 4 Ian Spencer

Spencer was fourth among the team's defensmen in scoring during the regular season. He was also the Johnstown Tomahawks first ever NAHL Draft pick in the 2012 draft. He is also one of three Tomahawks' players that made a college commitment, though his commitment came before the regular season. Though he still able to play at the junior level, like Truehl, will be heading to college next season, University of Vermont.

Spencer was probably the slowest defensemen on the Tomahawks roster but seemed to be very confident with the puck.

Spencer had one game winning goal which came against Jamestown in a 3-1 victory on March 8th 2013. Spencer also had one fight while playing for Johnstown. That fight was against Jamestown's Elliot Tisdale, after Tisdale hit Casey Nelson from behind, causing Nelson to miss the rest of the regular season with an injury to his shoulder.

April 8, 2013

Each day we'll take a look back at the season, position by position. Today as the title states, we will look at the men who protected the net for the Tomahawks this season. We'll go in order of least played games to most played.

Enjoy.

# 1 Matthew McLaughlin

McLaughlin spent all of training camp with Johnstown and was on the roster until his release on October 2nd, 2012, but only appeared in one game for the Tomahawks.

During the NAHL's Showcase, McLaughlin, saw just over thirty minutes of play in his first and only start with the Tomahawks, before being pulled in favor of backup, Chirs Truehl. McLaughlin stopped 12 of 16 shots. Truehl then entered the game and stopped 19 of 20 shots, picking up the Tomahawks first win in team history, in a shootout, 6-5 against Kenai River. Boxscore

GP

W

L

OTL

GAA

Save%

1

0

0

0

7.76

0.75

Since Matt never played a game at home, I couldn't tell you if the numbers in his one appearance are misleading or if he wasn't really good enough for this level of hockey. Doing a long Internet search I could not find any information on where McLaughlin went to play after being released by the Tomahawks, if he played anywhere.

# 35 Bodhi Engum

Engum was one of the many players that came to Johnstown from the Alaska Avalanche team. During the season before the team relocated to Johnstown, Engum had a record of 14-8-3, with a GAA of 2.93, and a save percentage of .884.

Engum though, upon coming to Johnstown, seemed to have a tough time making saves for Johnstown. One thing I noticed was how one moment he'd make a great big save only to allow a very easy goal go in next. Below shows you his game by game performance.

April 7, 2013

It'll take a day or two until we feel like writing a long in depth look at this past season and playoffs, but for now all we can say is, damn.

We feel bad for a guy like Matt Williams right now because he's probably putting a lot of the blame on himself, but he shouldn't.

Truehl is probably doing the same thing, but he shouldn't.

You can blame the ref, but you'd be wrong.

Sometimes things just don't work out.

We'd like to say thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and everyone who's helped with the blog so far. It was a fun season and it should only get better.

Just because the year is over doesn't mean we are. We will be posting new content at least a few times a week until the puck drops again. We hope you stop by and take a look every once in a while.

As we said before, we'll take a deep look into the season in a few days. We'll look back at all the players, we'll take a look towards next season, and maybe we'll have a couple fun contests along the way.

Oh by the way, Port Huron will probably be swept by Soo, so there's that to smile about.

Round one of the NAHL Robertson Cup Playoffs come to this, a final deciding game three. The winner will head to Soo next weekend, and the loser will just go home. No matter the outcome of today's game, history will be made.

In their first season, the Tomahawks have made it to the playoffs, and got the team's first ever playoff win in franchise history this past Friday night. This after noon, the Tomahawks will look to win it's first ever playoff series. On the other side of things, if they lose it'll be the team's first ever playoff series loss.

Game time today is at 3pm but the gates at the War Memorial are opening up very early, 12:30pm.

The Tomahawks during the regular season had a total of eight sellouts, but didn't win once during those sellouts. Any "cup is half full" type of person would say that the team was just waiting to win when it really mattered. Well that time is now.

Cody Bentzel got hurt in Game 2, and might not play today.

Cody Boyd should be back in today's line up after having to sit out the first two games due to league suspension.

Truehl has a save percentage, this playoffs, of .966. He should get the start again today. On the other side, Port Huron's Max Milosek has a save percentage of .957 and should also get the start today in net.

Rick DeRosa leads Port Huron in scoring with two points (goal and an assist). While Cobi Smith-Mass, Jeff Bergh, Connor Wright, and Brandon Reinholz are tied for the team lead with one point each.

As we've said before, today's game should be a sellout or very close to a sellout. In Game 1, Port Huron had an attendance of 404. In Game 2 they had an attendance of 470. So if you don't have a ticket yet, get one, and show Port Huron what it's like to play in a full building.

Final Thoughts:

Well, If the Tomahawks find a way to win today, they'll be guaranteed to host at least one more playoff game at home. If they lose, we'll have to wait until next year to see a game.

Everybody in Johnstown hopes the Tomahawks win, of course, but if they don't, still try to enjoy the game as a fan. This could be your last chance to see several players in a Tomahawks' uniform. Chris Truehl, Ian Spencer, and Casey Nelson will be headed to play college hockey next season. Mitch Kontny, Jeff Bergh, Connor Wright, and Cobi Smith-Mass will be "over age" to play next season. You can read about those players in a blog post we did earlier this season here.

The first two games in this round have been shutouts, so you can except another low scoring game today. Then again, the crowd might factor in for the Tomahawks giving them an added bounce in their step.

Here at TheTomablog, when the game is over, there will be two possible scenarios. 1. The Tomahawks win and we post a blog about how great the team did and how we can't wait to play Soo. 2. We lost in heart breaking fashion and for the next week or so we're on suicide watch. Just kidding of course, but as die hard fan's of any team, when you're team loses it can be hard. So let's just push those sad thought away and hope the guys get the job done and move on to the second round. This team is too go to lose this early.

GIF of the Day:

If you wonder what the Tomahawks will be doing in their locker room right before the opening face off, just look at the above GIF. As they sit at their lockers, they'll look at each other, and know exactly what they need to do to win.

P.S.

Kalamazoo swept Springfield to advance to the next round. Kalamazoo will play Jamestown next weekend.

April 6, 2013

Sums up the Tomahawks reaction, coming back to Johnstown for game three.

Port Huron didn't want to get on their bus and travel to Johnstown for a game on Sunday, but in this world, you have to do things you don't want to. Johnstown played a great game, got great goaltending, and had two great penalty kills that gave them the 2-0 victory.

Scoring:

Both goals for Johnstown came in the second period. The game winner came off the stick of D-man Jeff Bergh. The goal was unassisted. Only 1:05 later the Tomahawks got the insurance marker, Cobi Smith-Mass assisted by Connor Wright and Brandon Reinholz.

Penalty of Note:

In the third period, Jaycob McCombs was given four minutes for checking from behind and a game ejection. Seeing the hit online, it looked to be the right call. Luckily the penalty didn't come back to haunt us.

Penalty Kill:

Port Huron went 0-6 on the power play, but they had a lot of good chances. Last night the Tomahawks showed they were willing to do what it takes to win, with two penalty kills coming to mind.

The first was in the second period when Jake Fairchild took an elbowing penalty. Port Huron had the puck in the zone for most of power play but the Tomahawks blocked 4 shots, almost back-to back, from the point. Every player on the ice sacrificed their body to make sure Port Huron didn't get a quality shot on net.

The other penalty kill that stands out in my mind was during McCombs' four minute penalty. If Port Huron would have scored on that extended power play they could have tied the game. Zach Wallace, made three or four key blocks, with one of them seeming to injure him on the play. Unable to get off the ice, Wallace, blocked at least one more shot, then as best as he could, got to the lose puck to clear it. Wallace showed on that shift that he didn't want to go home empty handed.

Truehl picked up the win and the shutout. Truehl had one total shutout in the whole regular season. If not for Truehl, Port Huron might have won that game, but Chris kept the Tomahawks in the game until Bergh was able to find a way to beat Milosek.

In a final game of a playoff round anything could happen. A bad bounce, a bad call, and it could be all over. The Tomahawks might be on the winning side, or Port Huron might knocked us out. Whatever happens tomorrow afternoon, at least we get to see our team on our ice again.

If we win, the place will go nuts, and the team will get a boost from the home crowd to keep winning. If we lose, at least the fans can show their appreciation for the team and all they did this year. So either way, the city at least, will be a winner on Sunday.

But, let's hope they kick some butt and we can hold off on the "Thanks for a great season" until a later date.

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